Cubs join Wilson to entice fans with a touch of leather

The Chicago Cubs have entered into an exclusive partnership with Wilson Sporting
Goods Co. that will give hundreds of fans a chance to take home authentic gloves
from several eras in club history.

On each of four home dates during the 2005 season, the Cubs will hand out 20,000
scratch-and-win cards at the gate, and gloves will be given to the holders of
100 winning cards as well as one randomly selected fan per inning. The promotion
features Ernie Banks’ 1963 Wilson A2000 glove model on April 24, a Kerry
Wood Wilson A3000 glove on May 20, a Ron Santo 1962 A2000 glove on July 17 and
a Greg Maddux 300 Wins Wilson A2000 Limited Edition glove on Aug. 22.

Cubs vice president of marketing and broadcasting John McDonough hatched the promotional
idea last May, and he called Wilson executives to see if they still had their
old glove patterns and the wherewithal to re-create them. Brian Sullivano, Wilson’s
business manager for baseball gloves, called McDonough back with the go-ahead
about six weeks later.

The Cubs will give away glove models favord by Kerry Wood (top) and Greg Maddux to dozens of fans at selected home games this year.

“It was a unique challenge,” Sullivano said of making the Banks and
Santo gloves given the changes in glove molds and materials through the years.
“It was a lot of fun to try to rebuild them.”

The Cubs’ deal with Wilson is exclusive for 2005. After that, Wilson can
partner with other MLB clubs on similar promotions. The Cubs paid Wilson an undisclosed
amount of money to have the gloves made, but the team already has a sponsor for
each of the giveaway dates. MBNA will sponsor the Banks glove giveaway, Harris
Bank the Wood giveaway, Chevrolet the Santo giveaway and Pepsi the Maddux giveaway.

Team officials declined to comment on any financial details of the deal, including
what, if any, arrangements were made with the four participating players.

The promotion comes a year after the Cubs signed an exclusive deal with Mitchell
& Ness to produce authentic jerseys for a 12-date premium giveaway. That idea
immediately attracted attention from other pro teams. This year, Mitchell &
Ness is partnering with the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins
and Detroit Tigers on similar giveaways, said Joanne Graham, M&N’s director
of team development.

The Cubs will continue their Mitchell & Ness partnership this season with
10 more jersey giveaways, highlighted by their Aug. 14 game, when 100 fans will
receive jerseys in the style of the 1984 road jersey of longtime Cubs star and
newly elected hall of famer Ryne Sandberg.

McDonough said tapping and preserving the Cubs’ rich history is particularly
important at a time when the organization and Wrigley Field are being forced to
adapt. One year after installing about 1,000 square feet of new video scoreboards
and 200 new premium seats, the Cubs this season will install a rotational sign
behind home plate that will generate $4 million to $5 million in new revenue.

“It’s incumbent upon all of us to be as creative as we can,” McDonough
said.